Pesticide exposure may increase risk of diabetes

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides may increase the
risk of diabetes1, a new study by biologists at the Madurai Kamaraj University
has found, adding to growing epidemiological evidence around this link2.

In mice experiments, the researchers found that rodents fed on
organophosphates (OP) for 180 days exhibited a steady increase in blood glucose
levels compared to controls. The pesticide got decomposed by gut bacteria into
short-chain fatty acids, particularly ascetic acid, leading to elevated blood
sugar levels and glucose intolerance.

According to the scientists, a complete gene profiling of gut
bacteria of mice exposed to OP shows that genes linked to OP degradation were
highly expressed.

The mice study was prompted by their finding that diabetes prevalence among Indian villagers, regularly exposed to insecticides, was three-fold higher than in unexposed people. The role of gut bacteria in mediating pesticide-induced
diabetes was confirmed in humans with high level of acetate in the faeces of diabetics.